College and Career Pathways: Scott was especially excited about the district's momentum, partnering with colleges, the city of Hillsboro, businesses and the chamber of commerce to better prepare kids for college or careers after high school.

"The work we're doing to prepare kids once they leave Hillsboro School District is substantial," he said.

The district named a college and career program coordinator who will get businesses on board to provide internships and partnerships and will determine the number of dual college/high school credits students can complete.

Scott likened the program to a tree. The narrow trunk is K-6, but the branches expand in middle school when kids can begin pursuing their areas of interest and continue to broaden until the 11th and 12th grades, when they receive job shadows or internships in those fields of interest.

Smarter Balanced: This assessment will replace the Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS) in the spring and is known to be much more difficult. It will assess student achievement based on the Common Core, a set of national standards.

Scott said he has no problems with using Common Core, saying teachers have used standards for years and these are just another evolution. "I think it's good that the standard is being raised," he said.

He is, however, concerned about the Smarter Balanced because scores are expected to drop, in some cases drastically, compared with the OAKS.

"I have concerns about the comparisons from last year and this year," he said, noting that the two tests are completely different. "We need to get a baseline under our belts (on Smarter Balanced) and then we can compare."

South Hillsboro: The development of South Hillsboro is expected to bring 5,500 students to Hillsboro schools, Scott said. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2015 and Hillsboro School District is starting its preparations. The district already has 40 acres for a high school and 50 acres for a middle school and elementary in the area. By the time the area is built out, the district anticipates needing four elementaries, a middle school and a high school.

The district will start getting the word out about what the future holds in terms of a construction bond. Scott said he expects those preparations and communication to take two or three years. One of the questions: How big should a future high school be?

Community outreach: The district will continue its attempt to broaden its audience at community gatherings, Scott said. They found success with Scott's coffee chats at neighborhood cafes or coffee shops.

"If we meet in their neck of the woods, we get a better crowd," Scott said. "It's a more authentic conversation."

The district's listening sessions, usually held in school libraries, historically draw few people, but Scott said the district will continue to hold a couple a year.

The district tried a webinar and Scott had lunch with employees at some of Hillsboro's largest businesses. "We want them to know what some of our focus areas are and want to know what's important to them," he said.

Technology: Last November, voters did not support district plans for a bond that would have invested $17 million in technology across the district, much of it to replace aging and broken computers. That leaves the district to pull needed technology funds from the same pot of money used to pay for teachers, programs and other district operations. The district will spend $1.5 million in 2014-15 for replacement computers.

"We still have a lot of computers at the end of their lives," Scott said. "We need our students to be proficient and comfortable with technology. We know it's not going away. When used well, technology improves engagement of our students. It's not a substitute."

School safety: Hillsboro recently completed a live school safety drill at Liberty High with emergency responders. The focus of the drill was reunification of students and parents after a school shooting. After a shooting scenario at Liberty High, students were bused to Hillsboro Stadium. Adults showed their IDs and named their children and the student was pulled from the stands and handed over to the parent.

"If you don't practice that, you don't have a sense of it," Scott said.